Wonder, Wander
by destiny's sweet melody
Summary: "'We're all a little mad here.' She said and giggled so sweetly that he almost forgot she was covered in blood." Even paradise has its price, and now the last vestiges of humanity fight to change the world back to the way it once was.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, the Last of Us or anything recognizable herein.

A/N: This just came to me when reading the latest chapter (646) and it's just what I thought _could_ happen if the Moon's Eye Plan actually worked. Be honest, does anybody actually think it will? I'm sure Naruto will pull some super jutsu at the last second and everything will be fine - but _if_ it didn't, I imagine this is one of the ways it can go. It's loosely inspired by the game **The Last of Us**, so you may see some moments that are directly inspired by it. I put Konohamaru, Hinata, and Sasuke as the characters because I believe the main characters should be the ones in the info, not just the main relationship. Which is why in my other fic, **The Children's Zoo**, Sakura and Hinata are the main characters even though their love interests are the same as in the show.

**Warning:** Contains spoilers up to the latest chapters, as it is post-646. Contains KonoHina friendship and SasuHina friendship as the main focus. If any other couples slip in, I will warn you during that chapter! Also, be aware that it takes place three years in the future.

Without further ado...

* * *

**Summary:**"'We're all a little mad here.' She said and giggled so sweetly that he almost forgot she was covered in blood." Even paradise has its price, and now the last vestiges of humanity fight to change the world back to the way it once was.

* * *

**Wonder/Wander**

**Chapter 1**

Konohamaru was... excited, he guessed was the word. It was the first time in a long time that he had felt anything that positive.

He placed his feet on the dash in front of him as he reclined in the passenger's seat. It had taken a long time to get used to the idea of riding in cars. He could _run_ faster on a bad day. But with the God Tree tracking down anything with chakra and sucking it dry, they really had no choice. His fingers subconsciously went to his pouch where his pills were. All shinobi carried them; they were the antithesis of soldier pills and he found it ironic that they were in higher demand than the latter ever was. Put simply, they were chakra inhibitors. They made it so that they couldn't use their chakra and the Tree's roots couldn't detect them. So no jumping through trees or running at supersonic speeds!

Beside him, Megumi, an Iwa nin that had it stuck in her head that she was in charge just because she was three years older than him at eighteen, turned to face him. "Don't you have any manners?" She spat out, glaring at his feet.

He sneered at her but made no comment. Being eighteen wasn't something to be proud of, and everybody knew it! It meant that she was old enough to fight in the Fourth Shinobi World War three years ago and probably ran away at some point. He knew she wasn't alone in that act, but it still bothered him.

After all, real ninja don't run away.

* * *

Two days in car with Megumi! He was pretty sure that feat alone could nominate him for sainthood. He hadn't killed her, and sure, he had yelled more than once, but he was only human.

The great metal walls of the last shinobi HQ towered before them. It was somehow... lifeless. Maybe it was just the color, but he didn't get the same feeling he did whenever he used to walk towards Konoha's walls. There was a dome, too. Like anywhere people lived nowadays. No more looking at the sky without protective gear.

When he thought about the stale, processed air and dim lighting sure to be found within, he almost found himself missing the car ride.

Megumi spoke some long lines of code to a speaker and then with a loud creaking sound, the gates opened.

It was large enough that they could drive in, and he was surprised to see a village bustling before him.

He jumped out of the car, ignoring his partner's protests, mouth gaping at the sight. There were small stone houses, and even some stores. Everywhere he saw, people were walking back and forth; some with purpose, some obviously bored. It reminded him of Konoha in the spring! He smiled widely. It wasn't what he expected when they sent him to the HQ.

"Excuse me!" A young woman with short brown hair and knee high socks ran towards him. "Are you the ones selected for the S-class mission?"

He was so surprised that she spoke of it so freely that he didn't respond. With a huff, Megumi got out and slammed the door shut. "That's us." She affirmed, "I am Megumi of Iwa, this is Konohamaru of Konoha."

The woman smiled again, and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm Matsuri of Suna, it's a pleasure. Please follow me to Tactical Ops."

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he heard more screams coming from the interrogation room. He would be okay with torture, if it wasn't for the fact that it was _his_ men being tortured by a restrained individual!

"This is so troublesome," He stuffed his hands into his pockets and swayed on the balls of his feet. This was taking too long and it wasn't going at all how he wanted.

The door before him suddenly flew open and a pale "interrogator" fled the room, not even bothering to acknowledge his superior officer. He heard giggling and snuck a peek through the open door.

"Heee~y," the voice sung out, so familiar and yet so disturbing, "Wanna see something cool?"

He'd heard this a few times since they brought her in. It was usually the precursor to somebody screaming bloody murder. His eyes flicked to the chains around her wrists. He decided not to risk it, "No thanks." He quickly shut the door.

"Another one bites the dust, huh?" The voice of his personal assistant floated through the air as she walked in.

"He was pretty fast for a genin." He joked, even though he knew their ranking system was just for show. Sota, his interrogator, was a genin simply because he was twelve, and most of the army was fifteen or younger. They could no longer judge shinobi by their chakra control or mastery of jutsu. "What exactly is so frightening about her anyway?"

Shiho pushed her glasses up and stared incredulously at him, "You _have_ met her right?"

He had. That's why it was so confusing. But he couldn't allow his past feelings mess up their plans, "What about the other one?"

"Oh, he's simple," Shiho began before she even started shuffling through her files to get the right one, "Demands to be let go. Demands to be returned to his partner. Hey, what do you think their relationship is, anyway?"

"I have no idea," He murmured without thinking. Honestly, he couldn't wrap his mind around those two. The end of the world obviously changed a lot of things.

A beeping distracted him from his thoughts. He clicked on his walkie-talkie, "Nara Shikamaru here."

"Shikamaru-san, this is Matsuri. I have the two selected for the S-class mission with me, awaiting your arrival at tactical ops."

He sighed, "I'll be right there." With one last look at the door, he walked out.

* * *

Konohamaru blinked, "So... you want us to... transport something?"

Shikamaru nodded, "It's a very delicate mission. We can't explain all the details right now, but we think that this can change everything."

That got the fifteen year old's attention. "Everything?" He couldn't even speak, it was too much to hope for.

Shikamaru looked down for a second, his eyes clouding over with something akin to lament, before looking up, his gaze clear and spearing the two shinobi before him, "We think it can reverse the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Konohamaru was sure his heart just stopped, or his brain just died, or some combination of the two. A reversal of the Infinite Tsukuyomi... it was _unreal_. "Seriously?" He couldn't help asking.

Beside him, Megumi bristled and she reached over to punch his arm. "What kind of question is that? Do you think this is a joke? That the Head of Defense would call us all the way here just to play a prank on us?"

"Enough," Shikamaru ended her ranting, but he couldn't be too mad. He knew she was just angry because she was hopeful and Konohamaru was getting in the way of that hope. It was a scenario that was too painfully familiar to him. "This isn't a joke. I am deadly serious. Should you accept this mission, you will have to travel far and into many dangerous areas. We were not just being careful when classifying this mission S. Honestly, chances are neither of you will survive even if you do succeed. But if you do succeed, humanity will have the chance to prosper again."

Silence pervaded the small office after his speech. Death in exchange for life. Even as shinobi, they rarely ever think of dying. But if ever there was a reason...

_"Even paradise has its price!"_ Konohamaru could hear those words ring in his ears as if they were being said at that very moment.

He turned to Megumi and was surprised to see her looking at him with a similar expression of pain and doubt... with the smallest undercurrent of hope. Without words, they came to a decision. He turned back to Shikamaru.

"We accept."

* * *

A/N: I just realized that by the time I post this, the next chapter will probably be up and this will probably be moot anyway. But, that why it's fanfiction!

I'm probably making the mystery guests a bit too obvious, but try to guess anyway! And the reason so far you've seen mostly minor/side characters like Matsuri and Shiho is because when thinking up this world I thought it'd be interesting how the _normal_ shinobi handle it. I mean, if all the uber shinobi were still around then this would have been dealt with already.

Like always, please review and let me know what you liked, what you thought could use improvement, or even just to say hello!

- Destiny's Sweet Melody


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Can anyone help me with the image manager? I keep trying to add images - for this and other fics - but it keeps saying error. I even made sure it met all the specifications! Is this a usual thing?

**Warning:** some repressed Gaara/Matsuri romantic feelings here!

* * *

**Wonder/Wander**

**Chapter 2**

He watched as Megumi adjusted her backpack for the twelfth time in as many minutes. He wasn't sure why she was fussing so much, she was just going to take it off in a few minutes when they got to the car. He simply stood silently at attention as he saw three shinobi attach a cage-like thing to the car's bumper.

Shikamaru and Shiho appeared before them. "You're all set now." Shikamaru said, "You are to rendezvous with Matsuri at this location," He said as Shiho dutifully handed them a piece of paper, "Where you will meet with your final team member."

He felt surprised at that, "Uh, sorry, but what other team member?" He didn't remember that being part of the mission briefing.

"Yeah, it's an essential piece for the mission; it'll all be explained at the rendezvous point." Again, he seemed somehow... regretful or something that Konohamaru couldn't place.

Shiho stepped forward and handed him a key on a chain. "This is the key to that cage there. Until you reach the rendezvous point you are not to interact with the individual in there."

"Wait, individual? There's a person in there?" He looked back at the cage; it was covered in a brown tarp, hiding anyone that may be within.

"It's a dangerous someone," Shiho answered, "You must not believe any of their lies. I'm giving this to you because your third partner will do anything to get this. Don't let it fall in the wrong hands."

_It all depends on you_. She didn't say that, but it was more or less implied. The fact that Megumi didn't grab the key as the senior shinobi meant that she understood that too and she didn't want to be held responsible should anything go wrong.

"It's fine!" Shikamaru insisted, "It should take less than an hour to get there and then it will be okay."

Shiho looked like she wanted to say something but smartly kept her lips shut at a sharp look from him.

Konohamaru didn't understand what was going on, but he knew that there was something he wasn't being told. Still, he knew that was a normal part of being a shinobi and didn't bother trying to figure it out.

"Let's go." Megumi ordered and, for once, he followed her without complaint.

* * *

Matsuri sighed and brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear. Now that she thought about it, her hair was getting a bit long. She had always kept it short, especially after she started training under Gaara-sama. Sand just got _everywhere_ and long hair would just be bothersome.

She looked up at the sky, her specialized shades in place even though it was still fairy early in the day, and thought about her redheaded Kazekage. She wondered what he was dreaming about. She wondered if she was in his Perfect World.

Her stomach twisted at the thought of her Gaara-sama laying somewhere like a vegetable, very much alive and yet not. How could somebody so strong have fallen? How could she escape when he couldn't? How was that fair?

She shook her head furiously and let her anger wash away her sadness, "It shouldn't be taking them this long!"

She heard her charge chuckle darkly. "Maybe they're dead. My partner, she will not let just anyone control her."

Matsuri spun on her heel and faced him, anger showing plainly through her frown. "She's in a cage, what can she do?"

He smirked, his eyes making direct contact with her own despite the dark lenses covering hers and she felt a shiver go down her spine. She was afraid of this man, despite the fact that his arms were bound behind his back. She didn't want to be the first to look away. All she could think was how disappointed Gaara-sama would be at her cowardice, but the longer the silence went on, the worse she felt.

She turned around.

Finally, he spoke, slowly and cryptically, "It wouldn't be the first time she forces her way out of an impossible cage."

* * *

They hit a bump in the road. Literally.

Megumi overestimated the cage's capabilities and drove over a pothole. When he looked back he saw the cage had broken off, the link completely shattered. There was no way the car was going to be any help.

"We'll have to push it." He stated.

"But that'll take _hours_," Megumi whined.

"It will, and we'll have to leave the car behind."

"But what about our stuff?"

"We'll have to carry it, like we used to." He glared at her, remembering his distaste for her. She had grown so complacent so quickly, adjusting to their pseudo-shinobi lifestyle as if it was what she wanted. He wondered how she was ever a shinobi at all.

She huffed but agreed and went to get their bags from the car. Leaving him alone guarding the cage. The silence was deafening, there was no more life in these woods. And then...

"Heee~y," a woman's voice called out.

His head whipped around, trying to locate the source. This was impossible, there was no one here! People didn't just take leisurely strolls anymore, especially not through forests. There was nowhere it could have come from. Unless... the cage! There was a girl in the cage!

Somehow he couldn't wrap his mind around that. He remembered his boss' teammate, Sakura, and how scary strong she was, but not even she could merit a cage. What type of person would scare the Shinobi Alliance so much that they had to keep her caged and covered?

"I know you." She whispered to him. "Please open the cage, I promise to be nice."

Her voice was so soft, so sweet, he couldn't help but believe her. And there was something about her voice, something familiar. She said she knew him, could it be true? Perhaps she was a Konoha shinobi, a former classmate. This had to be some sort of mistake.

The key around his neck weighed heavily, and his fingers itched to reach for it. Still, he had orders. And they wouldn't have caged her for nothing. There must be some reason. Maybe he could just take a peek and make sure everything was in order...

"What do you think you're doing?" Megumi's voice ripped through the haze that had briefly overtaken his mind. He realized, then, that his hand was halfway to the cage, ready to rip off the tarp. He pulled his hand back as if burned. He had been thinking about it, but he hadn't been _thinking_ about doing it. His body had started moving on its own! Suddenly, he was very afraid of whoever was in that cage.

Shaking slightly, he took his bag from Megumi and grabbed one side of the cage. "Let's go, now!"

* * *

It was night when he heard it again.

"Heee~y," He tried to ignore it, "Do you remember the Hokage Tower? There were so many rooms to hide in."

He tensed. There was no way for her to know, for anyone to know, that when he was a kid and his parents had just died, he spent his time finding new places to hide in the Hokage Tower. "Shut up!"

The tarp was still in place, so how could she know he was alone? How could she know that Megumi had gone to collect water? How come she only talked when he was alone?

"That's not nice!" She declared, and he could almost hear her pouting, "What would Naruto-kun say if he heard you talking to girls like that?"

Once again, he felt the world shift upside down. It felt like the moment Shikamaru told him he could reverse the Infinite Tsukuyomi. No one had mentioned Naruto in two years, and that was only in private company. Publicly, his name was practically taboo. The golden hero who failed in the end. He hated how people referred to his old rival and friend. To hear her say his name so freely, so fondly, was strange to say the least.

"You know the boss?"

She giggled almost manically, "Intimately."

Now _that_ got his attention. He couldn't remember Naruto having anybody as close to him as she was implying. He knew he had a thing for Sakura, but after a while it seemed more like a game than an actual relationship.

Now he had to know, he _had_ to. This girl, she was from Konoha, she was connected to Naruto, she was a connection to his past! There were so few of those now.

Before he could even think, he reached forward and lifted the trap. And then felt the breath leave his body. She was... beautiful. She wore a purple with white polka dot dress, as if she was going on a picnic and not living in a hellish landscape, her pale skin practically radiated in the darkness, as did her eyes, perfectly contrasted by her blue-black hair that fell in waves around her. She sat neatly in the center of the cage, her legs folded under her, hands placed gently on her lap.

She smiled at him, "Hello, Sarutobi Konohamaru-kun, my name is Hyuga Hinata."

* * *

A/N: Um, was this kind of an unreveal? The information alone should have given you a clue as to who the caged girl was. And the other prisoner should be fairly obvious as well. As to how they got to be prisoners - not to mention together - will be revealed with time.

I know this seems kind of slow going right now, but please give it a chance, I promise it will have plenty of action and adventure!

Thanks to everyone who favorited or alerted! Special thanks to **Sazu, SasuHina, **and** Relive the Pain**! Glad to know somebody's enjoying it!

As always, please review and let me know what you liked, thought could use improvement, or even just to say hello!

- Destiny's Sweet Melody


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. The last two weeks have been hell for me. Midterms, people! Here you start getting a little taste of what led to the present circumstances.

* * *

**Wonder/Wander**

**Chapter 3**

_Three Years Ago_

She watched the death of the universe, and then was there to watch it be born.

She watched humans worshipping a tree. Watched Kaguya Otsustsuki taste the forbidden fruit and end wars. She watched Hagoromo kill a god.

She watched war after war and death after death. She could see it all, and throughout felt her binding tear at her flesh.

She didn't know she could scream so loud. And then, one day, it ended.

...

...

...

Hinata opened her eyes, and all was quiet on the battlefield.

* * *

Konohamaru watched the woman before him. She was still smiling at him as if nothing was wrong.

After a few seconds, his brain caught up to the situation. "Hyuga Hinata? The heir of the Hyuga clan?"

She nodded, "That's me!"

"I thought - everyone thought you were dead, or under the influence of the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"And what? Are you disappointed I'm alive?" Despite the words, which would be bitter in anybody else's voice, she sounded genuinely curious.

"No! I'm just... surprised, I guess." What was he supposed to say? He didn't really know her, she was just on the long list of victims that he perused long ago.

She laughed, "I'm just kidding! It's fine if you'd rather I be dead, I've gotten that lots of time!"

She didn't look like she was kidding about that.

That was kind of sad. "Why are you in a cage?" He stepped closer to her. She certainly didn't seem like she warranted such precautions.

Her brow furrowed as she concentrated. "Um, I'm not really sure. I was just walking around one day and suddenly a bunch of shinobi showed up and demanded I go with them. I didn't want to, but it got tiring fighting them after the fiftieth one showed up."

Konohamaru started. _Fifty?_ She fought fifty shinobi, without chakra? His eyes flicked to the bars separating them. Maybe they were needed a little.

"Heee~y," She smiled and from this angle he thought it looked a little... devious, "Can you come here for a second?"

"Closer?" He asked for clarification. It's not like he was very far away.

"Uh-huh! I wanna show you something!"

Bars, they were there for a reason, he reminded himself, but he couldn't think of any reason that could be. She looked nice enough and what little he had heard of her before made her out to be an angel.

Before he could stop himself, he was practically pressed up against the bars.

Hinata smiled. Then her hand flew forward and wrapped around the neck of his shirt. She pulled as hard as she could and his face collided against the bars. Stars floated before his eyes! The back of his neck burnt and he heard a loud _snap!_ When she pushed him away he realized what she had done. Before he even reached the ground, alarm bells rang in his mind.

_The key!_

The cage opened with a loud creak. When he opened his eyes, she was already jumping out.

He shook the dizziness away and stood to give her chase.

She smiled and winked at him. Then she jumped...

It had been a long time since he had seen somebody take to the trees.

That required chakra, chakra called the God Tree, and that called down death. Maybe he was in shock or something. Three years was a long time, after all.

He turned when he heard something fall. There were the water bottles on the ground, all the water slipping out. Right next to Megumi.

She didn't look happy.

* * *

Her voice rang out through the deathly still forest.

_"The flowers have bloomed."_

Keep on moving. One foot in front of the other. Right. Left. Right. Left.

_"Aren't they all beautiful?"_

Right. Left. Right - ooh, squirrel!

Hinata came to an abrupt stop as she turned to stare at the fluffy-tailed creature. A grin spread over her face and she stalked towards it. To its credit, it did nothing but stare. She wasn't being sneaky in the least, choosing instead to walk towards it head on. When she was two feet away, its tail twitched and it sped off into the distance.

She whined and pouted, but didn't move an inch.

What was she doing anyway? Oh, right! She had to get back home!

"I'm on my way, O-nii-san!" She cheered then continued rocketing through the trees, singing all the while.

And in the distance, a howl was heard.

* * *

His sword was _right_ there. Just a few feet away. But so was that girl. She was right next to it, in fact. And even though she had resolutely turned her back to him two hours or so ago and hadn't looked at him again since, he didn't think she was so pitiful a shinobi to not notice him reaching for it.

His guard tensed as a shrieking howl was carried on the wind towards them.

He smirked. Seems like Hinata had already gotten started. He knew that whoever was in charge of moving her would never even get this far. Although it had taken longer than he expected.

"No way," Matsuri murmured and her hands tightened into fists. Fists that would do next to nothing if one of those things actually got here.

He sighed. If he actually stayed, tied up as he was, he would die if she was the only thing standing between him and death. He was hoping not to have to exert himself, but he also knew Hinata didn't know where he was. She would probably go back to their hide-out.

And she'd be using chakra.

He had tried to tell her again and again not to use it, but it was like she simply didn't understand. She could understand basic orders, and she was smarter than he gave her credit for, but tell her not to use chakra and it was like taking to a brick wall!

There was no choice.

He lunged, and the girl was so focused on keeping an eye on the distance, she didn't notice him until he already had his sword in hand. A twist and a flip and his arms were free of their bindings. She hadn't even had time to turn when his sword went through her midsection.

* * *

A/N: Any Matsuri fans out there? Well, don't hate me please! We are finally starting to get to the action. Next chapter will be more fast-paced and, hopefully, so will the chapters that follow.

Hopefully, I can start updating once a week!

**Relive the Pain:** Many thanks! And yeah, crazy!Hinata is gonna be fun to write. But there _will_ be a plot relevant reason as to why she's this way. This story is only loosely inspired by it, so you won't get confused if you haven't played it. It is already very different.

**Sheep-san:** That should be revealed next chapter, if all goes to plan.

Please review and tell me what you liked, thought could use improvement, or even to say hi!

~ Destiny's Sweet Melody


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